Friday, December 30, 2016

Christmas Day 2016

Finally it was Christmas! We used the boys' genius "wake up" clock again and told them under no circumstances could they leave their room before the light turned green! And then set our clock for 15 minutes earlier so we could be in place when they came downstairs. Gram and Pop got their coffee and I was ready with the camera for the first look!

I love how they always automatically beeline towards their individual presents, even though Santa doesn't put any tags on the gifts he leaves! A hot wheels race track for Jackson, a monster truck set for Andrew, Little People set and ball popper for Ben and Magna Tiles for everyone to share. Oh boy! Andrew and Jackson equally enjoyed each other's presents though!

Stockings came next and I have to say that Santa knocked it out of the park with stocking stuffers this year. Take all the other gifts back because the whoopee cushions were the hit of the morning! It doesn't get any funnier than a whoopee cushion when you're a 4 or 6 year old boy. Pop has a mallard duck beanie baby that Andrew attaches himself to every time we are at their house. Well what do you know, Santa brought him his very own Mr. Quackers! He was so excited! And a Cardinal (like Jackson's school mascot) for Jackson and a little lamb for Ben. Plus lots of other fun stuff!

New this year was that Jackson read all the tags and distributed all the gifts!

Benjamin was also quite the active participant in the present opening compared to last year. Though big brothers were still quite eager to "help" him!

There are now hexbugs crawling all over the house...

And I've tripped over new Paw Patrol dogs more than a few times!

Oh boy a new mohawk helmet! Maybe this will inspire Jackson to finally take the plunge to learning how to ride that two-wheeler bike!

Quick! Take the requisite pictures with all the loot before it gets strewn all around the house!

The big boys were eager to get dressed so they could go outside to use their silly string. Their favorite target is Pop!

As an additional example of our unseasonable temperatures, Jackson captured a butterfly on Christmas Day. I know better than to dream of a White Christmas, but seriously?

The boys put the finishing touches on Jesus' birthday cake just before lunch. They couldn't agree on the type of sprinkles to use, so they each got to decorate half. I'm sure Jesus didn't mind, he had brothers afterall so I'm sure he understands!

We ate a delicious lunch that was prepared by lots of helping hands and cake of course for dessert!

The rest of our day was really just peaceful and easy. We pretty much didn't leave the living room for the rest of the day. Gram and Pop headed out after lunch for their next stop and we settled in for our traditional viewing of A Christmas Story. The boys played with all of their new toys until bedtime. It was a perfect day.